"The fact that this article received over 50 (occasionally quite heated) comments in a matter of a few hours is a sure sign of how bad things have become in Hungary."

I have seen Hungarian blog posts gain well over 1000 in the same time span. Just look at http://torokgaborelemez.blog.hu for example. 3 out of the last four posts there have 2000 comments. 50 comments is nothing.

"BTW the central bank reserves consist of bank account holders' money, our money, so I wouldn't root for him in your stead."

That has to be one of the most retarded things I've seen in any discussion. So if I put my little forints in my bank it suddenly appears in the MNB as Euros? :DD Also when Bajnai-Gyurcsany, took out an IMF loan and stashed most of it in the MNB reserves what happened then? How were the account holders involved in that transaction ? :)

Sir,
it is only a legend that "Fidesz has not won election with a two-thirds majority". The reality is that the election was won by 52,73% of the votes (33,85% of the Hungarian electorate). However, this landslide victory due to the unproportional distribution of votes, provided a super-majority for Fidesz.
Sincerely,
L. V.

It is amazing how well the world (politicians, bankers,newsmen and others care for Hungary. Never before in history have we managed to get as much attention as let's say in the last three months. And that simply because we (our government) dared to stand up to the gnomes of the IMF, the "Bilderberg group" and other, lesser known moneymongers. Long live the democracy of the double standards. (The US, Britain, Germany, France etc. have higher debts related to their GDP than Hungary. And we are the scapegoats, whose uncouth behaviour angers the united opinoinmakers of the world. Shame on you. This pattern is not new, we know it since Trianon, 1920. And will not budge!

No wonder you don't put names to articles in your periodical. Did you it would be plain for all to see that 'To Victor too many spoils' (does limp a bit that, to the English ear) Jan7'12, was written by an Hungarian Communist/Post-communist/Socialist/Free Democrat/Politics-can-be-lumpy etc... Thus propagandistic, disinformative and, in several instances, simply crass. And you're supposed to be an independent, democratic organ providing properly researched and unbiased information for an intelligent readership. Laughable on this showing.
Yours entirely sincerely
Doyne Byrd.

There is indeed some problems in Hungarian media but not exactly the type that the author of this article seems to believe. Pro-opposition media falsified the words of the US ambassador. When they were called out on it, they didn't even apologize.

"Too few ever complained about Silvio Berlusconi’s grip on Italy’s broadcast media".
This statement shows the problem in a nutshell.

One of the main problems of the EU is the double standard with which they judge their (actual and future) politicians.
The EU shows harsher attitudes towards smaller and/or poorer members states than towards larger and richer ones.
It also applies a strange geopolitical dichotomy: The more to the South or the West a country is situated, the more scandals it can afford before being penalized.

Just observe the strict EU attitude towards Slowakia (Meciar), Hungary (Orban), Austria (Haider), Poland (Kaczynski), Holland (Wilders), Finland (True Finns), Lithuania (Paksas) and Croatia (which is not a member yet only due to Gotovina).
Except for the last one mentioned, who is not a politician and hence irrelevant, these are or were all small villains (and some ar no villains at all, only not "PC").

Compare this to the lenient attititude towards Italy (Berlusconi), France (the nuclear tests done by Chirac), and Britian (joining the bombing of Serbia in 1999 and the invasion of Iraq in 2003).

Is it any wonder then, that people in many countries, like Hungary, are disapointed in and fed up with the directives from the EU and other western institutions?

I welcome the fact that Orbán is now starting to cooperate with our central bank (unfortunately not mentioned in this article).

I am confident that the negotiations with the IMF and the EU will be successful and all disputes about the central bank will be resolved.

In the meantime Hungary will remain a fully democratic country, who has a strong government that looks at the interests of citizens, rather than blindly carrying out what foreign politicians and large corporations want.

The law on churches states that any religious organization can apply if a person representing the organization submits at least 1000 signatures. If your church is not among the 14 initial ones, best get over it: you can apply in the fiuture. Further, it is not the state's job to financially support so many churches, even 14 is too much, not to mention 300...

I have thoroughly read Kim Lane Scheppele's hysteric gripes, thank you very much. What I mentioned is just an example of typical hypocrisy. Why not say she is against gerrymandering, instead of bringing up details like the 2/3 stipulation? Of course she can't do that, since gerrymandering is an everyday phenomenon in her own country.

But let's also talk about the gov't "raiding" private pension funds. Do you know how social security in the US works? just like the state pensions in Hungary.. some of your salary is deducted, and when you retire, you get some back, depending on how many people work then. Well, G. Bush tried to privatize social security. The NYT and all the others were horrified, appalled and very much against it (rightly so, I should add). But now, they are against Hungary re-nationalising pension funds.

Why wont't they just let Hungarians live the way they can? Wake up, none of this is about your liberties. It's about the style of law-making in Hungary. They don't like the speed, and they are frightened by new approaches.

Fidesz is a disgusting mixture of ex-communists, nazis and spineless opportunists. By telling every idiot what he wanted to hear, thry managed to kidmap the Hungarian democracy and now they are bankrupting the country. The internal opposition is as powerless as the Zimbabwe peple are against Mugabe.

The question is whether thebEU can tolerate ansuch a shithole in the middle of Europe?

Since 2006 it has been proved in hundreds of cases, many of them before courts, that the police have been using unnecessary brutality on 23 October, many times against people who didn't even participate in the protests, just happened to be at the wrong place, at the wrong time.

Anyway, whatever happened, facts remain facts. Already on the night of 23 October 2006 the internet was flooded with pictures like 10 policemen kicking some unfortunate fellow lying on the ground and trying to protect his head from the kicks and news like the riot police entering a pub and beating up EVERYBODY inside, without discrimination, emerged.

In every civilized country allegations like this provoke immediate action by the government and the judiciary to investigate. Liberals and leftists, always so keen on defending democracy and civic rights, should have led the way in this.

And what was in fact the reacion of the Socialists and the Free Democrats? They declared that "there were no abuses" and that "no investigations are necessary". They promoted the police chief, and that was it, there was never ever a single attempt by the Socialist-Liberal government to investigate what really happened. If you still don't understand how that was an outrage against the principle of rule of law, then you will never understand why Orban is having 2/3 today and why a great number of desperate and misguided people still support him.

"For some unexplainable reason there was no international outcry then."

This is a lie repeated by Fidesz loyalists a hundred times over every day. But it still remains a lie. There was an unheard-of international outcry at what Gyurcsany and his cronies did to the country. Socialist "governance" was criticized in a thousand articles in the West and everybody welcomed when Fidesz took the power in 2010. The outcry is only stronger now because everybody, except Fidesz partisans, understands that the Dear Leader is leading Hungary to an even deeper pit than Gyurcsany did.

You are right eleven years after WWII, fifty-five years ago from now no-one came to the help of Hungary. AT the other hand in 1988-89 the USA backed up the Velvet Revolution, and the new Government of Hungary with Orban at the helm received great monetary and additional support to deal wit the transformation. Either Mr Orban and any of the other current Fidesz members declined that help at the time or had a problem to get the help from those who failed to provide the same thirty years prior. It is a predicament now, isn't it? I am not sure what are you basing on that our opinion is at minority? Fidesz' popularity is falling with an unprecedented speed from two years ago, when they duped people. Yes, they ares till able to dupe many by providing false and censored news, by removing the possibility for the opposing media to operate (Club Radio, retouching people from photographs, providing news on the demonstration where thousands were present from a spot where are maybe a dozen demonstrators can be seen, hiring paid extras for Government events to clap for Orban, making official comments about global conspiracy, etc.) Trust me when people will learn the truth, they will change their mind, except those who receive direct benefit from Fidesz. THese are facts warren 76 and not simple sentences without merit.

I could not agree more. Still I have to comment one part. Just one and it is your P.S.

The real shame in this situation, that even you, with your clear and real views feel a strong need to add this P.S.

You (and actually nobody) should explain what he/she is, where he/she comes from, what his/her education or religion is. You (and actually everybody) is an individual, equal CITIZEN, with an indisputable right to have, and freely say his/her opinion.

I believe Hungary will be a free and democratic society only if and when opinions from ANY citizen of the country will be tolerated and respected.

I see you got the point. Sad thing that so many Fidesz-minded people only react to the present crisis by ranting about Hungarian supremacy, bashing and accusing foreigners in a mortally offended tone and frantically heralding the upcoming doom of the West. At times makes me think we deserve this Orban guy big time.

I don't think it was Kover's gaffe that paved the way for mszp's victory. It probably helped, but it was the more the money they promised to pour on the masses, which fidesz did not oppose as far as I remember. And of course it did not help either that each and every state contract seemed to go the same companies which in 1 way or another could be connected to fidesz. Ezusthajo etc. Back to the pay outs. mdf was the only party that didn't vote for the pay rises, 13th month pension etc in 2002. fidesz happily contributed to the mess and followed the worse the better policy especially cos they started the pay rises when they had raised civil servants salaries considerably. Gyurcsny lied day and night surely, but it is naiv to think that orban never did. They are doing the exact opposite of what they promised for 8 years. He's not a nazi, who says he is? It's just that, his policy is: shut you up, I know best what's good for you! I live abroad thanks god, but none of my friends, or family benefited from the new tax system, quite the opposite. They get less than last year.

News: Just watch the news on mtv and you'll see how the news is manipulated. Good example the demonstration in front of the opera house a few days ago. You see a reporter standing parallel with the demonstrators so that you can't see the crowd on the screen. The news bulletin was 4 min long. only 30 mp about the demonstration, the rest about how forward looking the new so called 'basic law' was bla bla. Reminds me of 2002, when on the news on Friday evening the news bulletin was ended with 3 outrageous lies about the financial situation was(Jarai as the president of the Hun National Bank, motorways (a new section was ready, except it wasn't)and I don't remember the third. And then started the 'campaign silence', when you can't discuss politics in the media till 8pm on the elections day. A few months ago, firefighters were forbidden (they had to sign a paper) to wear their protective clothes when they demonstrated so that they could be discarded as a mere mob most of whom were just trouble makers hanging around there. During a demonstration he said 'I'll send my minister of clown affairs to talk to them'. And we could go on. As for the communication, it is excellent. They can sell anything they do. It does not matter. They put their hands on people's private pension savings and they get away with it. I wonder what they are going to put their hands on next. And make no mistake, he was a member of the Hun Young communist league and several members of his government were party members. I don't like mszp either ( mszp is a thing of the past I hope) before you'd think I do. I just simply don't like politicians. I didn't vote at the election by the way cos there's no party in Hungary that would represent my ideas and I don't live there so I don't think I have the right to.